This invention relates to a floating breakwater and more particularly to an interconnecting device for a floating breakwater.
The use of breakwaters is important in several aspects such as minimizing the erosion of shorelines caused by the action of waves and the stabilization of structures in waters having turbulent waves.
The structures that are in the turbulent waters such as breakwaters and semi-permanent installations must absorb or dissipate a tremendous amount of energy in dampening and arresting the waves. It is a known fact that sections of stone and concrete breakwaters weighing more than 1,000 tons have been moved by the forces produced by waves. Structures that are installed in such turbulent waters which can yield sufficiently to absorb and dissipate the wave energy forces have become increasingly more important since these structures can be used with breakwater structures and platform structures associated with the ever increasing use of off-shore drilling platforms and their accompanying facilities. The present invention provides an interconnecting device between columns or piers that permits a limited deflection (rotational and translational) in a three-dimensional plane.